1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to polymer composites, and particularly to reinforced polymer composites made from recycled plastic.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of plastic in consumer products is ubiquitous in today's global market. Plastics are used in such products as food packaging and containers (bottled water, milk, soda pop, etc.), appliance housings (televisions, blenders, coffee makers, etc.), automobile components (dashboards, interior door panels, etc.), and numerous other products. Eventually, however, the plastic material must be disposed of after the food or beverage has been consumed, or after the appliance or other product has reached the end of its useful life. The older solution to the disposal of plastic waste was to either incinerate the plastic or to bury the plastic at a landfill. Such disposal methods raised environmental concerns about the emission of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, and to a lesser extent, methane. As a result, modern solid waste disposal facilities make provision for recycling plastic waste materials. The plastics are sorted by type, washed, crushed, flaked, and granulated to form resin pellets. However, the uses for recycled plastics are currently somewhat limited. Therefore, there is a need for developing new products and uses for recycled plastic to make commercial recycling of plastic waste materials more attractive.
Thus, reinforced polymer composites made from recycled plastic solving the aforementioned problems are desired.